Getting Ready..........

Gentle Friends, I reserve Tuesdays for some sort of baking or cooking Post... and today I thought I'd post about my determination to create a Traditional Christmas Cake..... 

... as I cast my mind back into my murky past I do not remember ever really enjoying "manufactured" fruit cake (and Christmas cake is basically a fruit cake). I think the part of the cake is not the cake but a specific fruit..... that basically makes me gag....  it is the candied Citron, and you find it in a majority of American fruit cakes.  I did however adore my Granny's "fruit cake."  She made it once a year and it was a family tradition that passed when she did.  Here "fruit cake" was mostly cherries, pecans and whiskey with a little candied lemon and orange peel - without a hint of citron - so I figure if I left out that detestable citron - the cake I make would be safe.  I really enjoy a heavy cake, I also enjoy dried fruits, booze, nuts and spicy things so why not try my hand at this cake?

I didn't have a recipe for this cake and so I started looking for one on the web - and find that there seems to be dozens of variations to the recipe out there for these lovely cakes.   All different amounts of ingredients and all sorts of fruits....   I've pulled together some of the more interesting recipes and sort of made up my own  - and I've be tweaking it to include a wider variety of fruits and nuts - like cranberries, pineapple, pecans and walnuts.

So, with that in mind "Stir-up Sunday " is on the horizon ( 11/22),

......get those fruits soaking and spoons ready!!

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'

Gentle Friends, a quick update on AaHRH...

... it's a bit hard to see, but I finished up the yellow and green check pasture the horses are in....  

now on to the yard, house and trees....

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A quickie post today, thanks for stopping!!

Take care,

edgar

A Fun Fall Exchange

Gentle Friends, I took part in the HOE Autumn Exchange and received from my partner.....

 ... sweet Marie....  a really lovely Needle/Scissor Caddy.....

... the design is from a freebie at My Heartstring......  I will have to keep the piece I stitched and sent a secret a tad longer as it has not arrived to its new home yet.

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That's wraps up the week sports fans, thanks stopping by do stop again!!  Have a super weekend!

Take care,

edgar

Thrifting Thursday

Gentle Friends.... it was slim pickins' last weekend but I was still able to find a couple of things......

...  I had seen the hand colored photo of Bridalveil Falls at the Goodwill a couple of weeks ago it was on the expensive side....  so when I noticed it had gone to 1/2 price I snapped that sucker up!!  In one of the consignment shops I found both the VMC "William & Mary" cipher trivet and the little  Russian lacquer box.  The book about V&A looked interesting and should be a fun read.

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks once again for stopping by - do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

85 Years Ago Today

Gentle Friends...  today would have been my Grandparents 85th Wedding Anniversary..... I wanted to remember them with a little tribute and so last Sunday I had some flowers put in the Church for them....

.... as usual they floral designer did a wonderful job and they were really beautiful.....  here are some pictures you might enjoy.....

....  there are no wedding pictures, my grandparents eloped and without a camera in sight!!  These are the two earliest snaps I have of them with my dad as a baby, so it would have been the fall of 1931,  they were taken at my Great grandmothers farm in Decatur, Georgia...

... this is a snap my Dad kept in his wallet taken in the late 1950's...

..... this is a picture from Christmas 1965 in Oxford Mississippi...the kid with the book is me....

... one of my favorite pictures of my Granny and me also Christmas,1965...

....  1980, at their 50th Wedding Anniversary party....

.... 1982, when I graduated from High School.....

... from about 1988 for the Church Directory.....

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That's about it for today sports fans, I hope enjoyed my little trip into the past.

Thanks for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Bakin'

Gentle friends, I was thinking about what to bake over the weekend last week and caught the tail end of "The Pioneer Woman" on the Food Network.  The host of the show is Ree Drummond - she was putting together a great sounding cake.... Grandma Iny's Prune Cake.  I do love prunes and it sounded so very old fashioned ... and... as it came together during the show I thought what a super Fall cake and so easy!!!  You can find the recipe HERE......  the link is to here Blog, 

The Pioneer Woman.

... the boiled icing poured over the warm cake just soaked in and made a nice sweet coating.  Let me tell you this was a total hit and so very delicious.  The only thing I did waswork over the spices, more nutmeg a little less cinnamon, a 1/2 teas ground clove a heaping 1/2 teas of ground ginger and 3/4 teas of my Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend I posted about last year.  The cake was super moist, both warmed up and cooled it was delicious, I'll be making this winner again!!!  

Thank you very much Grandma Iny and thank you Ree!!!

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks again for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar

A Little Stitchin'..... and the "Bud's" has Arrived.......

Gentle Friends, I got a bit more done on the AaHRH......

...I've gotten all the green squares done and now it's on to the light gold silk to fill in the rest of the yard....

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I couldn't believe that Bud's was already in the stores Saturday so of course I had to buy some.... 

a really delicious Egg Nog here in the Bay area.... 

... and I was still celebrating Hallowe'en since I used my Hallowe'en mug!!

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That's about it for today sports fans, thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,

edgar